MENDHAM TOWNSHIP, NJ (Morris County) – An elderly man who was reported missing on Thursday night has been found dead in the Clyde Pots Reservoir in Mendham Township, according to police.
On June 17, at around 11:00 p.m., officers observed a suspicious vehicle parked off of Woodland Road by the Clyde Pots Reservoir. During the investigation it quickly became clear that the owner, a 71-year-old male from Randolph Township, may have been fishing and may have been in distress or missing, police said.
Officers made contact with the man’s family who were also unable to verify his whereabouts. Due to the circumstances, a missing person investigation was initiated with possibly a person in the water, police said.
Police were assisted in the search by the Morris County Sheriffs Unit K9, NJ State Police Aviation Unit, Morris County Park Police, Randolph PD, Brookside/Ralston Fire Departments and the Mendham Twp First Aid Squad, police said.
The search was called off at about 4:00 a.m. after all attempts to locate were exhausted, police said.
On Friday morning, June 18, the search for the missing person was reconvened. The Morris County OEM assisted police with their assets as well as the Morris County Sheriffs Emergency Services Unit and Crime Scene Investigation Unit, police said.
At around 11:30 a.m., a NJ State Police TEAMS Unit Diver located the man deceased in the water a short distance from the shore, police said.
“At this time the incident is believed to be accidental in nature and non-suspicious pending an autopsy from the Morris County Medical Examiners Office. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family during this difficult time,” police said.
Clyde Potts Reservoir is private property owned by the SMCMUA and any type of trespassing is strictly forbidden and enforced, police said.
